Fire Services

The Fire Services portfolio has two primary objectives. The first is to develop Science and Technology (S&T) solutions that meet national Fire services requirements and fit within the scope of the CSSP program. The second is to inform decisions pertaining to Fire Service operations and policy through proactive dissemination and sharing of S&T information and knowledge that is relevant to stakeholders within and external to the fire community. To achieve these objectives, the portfolio performs the following primary functions1:

Identify operational and/or policy gaps that warrant research, investigation, scientific analysis, or the building of collaborative networks to develop solutions;

Prioritize the operational and/or policy gaps through an analysis that aligns the needs of the fire services within the scope of the annual CSSP Planning process and associated investment instruments.

Influence the development and implementation of solutions to the operational/policy gaps that are relevant to the community and meet operational and/or policy requirements within the scope of the project charter;

Disseminate/Transition the program outputs to the national stakeholders to ensure the full potential of the new knowledge or technology is realized; and

Assess the impact of Program outputs upon the community, in line with CSSP established values and metrics. Use the assessment results to inform future planning.

The Fire Service portfolio engages the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), and the Council of Canadian Fire Marshals and Fire Commissioners (CCFMFC). CAFC is an independent, non-profit organization with a voluntary membership. It’s the national public service association dedicated to reducing the loss of life and property from fire. They also play a role in advancing science and technology for the Fire and Emergency Services and represent fire services management across the country. CCFMFC is a 15-member council formed in 1921 and consists of the senior fire officials (Fire Marshall or Fire Commissioner) of each province and territory along with the Department of National Defence. Some board members are also members of the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency (SOREM). The Fire Services Portfolio also engages with the Ministère de la Sécurité Publique Québec, the National Research Council (NRC), Underwriters Laboratories Canada (ULC), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), Mine & Industry Firefighting (Vale), the First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS - BC), Labour – International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), and the Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association (CVFSA).

To enable knowledge sharing within the community and to provide strategic advice to DRDC CSS, the Fire Services Community of Practice (CoP) was created to engage with multiple organizations within the fire domain. Membership represents a broad spectrum of organizations that are vital to informing the future of the Fire services in Canada. These include members from national associations, research organizations, as well as private sector, academic, media, and standards development organizations.